PASET – Preparing youth for a digital future

African countries need to be serious about empowering their youth in order to drive the fourth industrial revolution, according to Professor George Magoha, chair of the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) governing council.

Speaking at last Monday’s opening of the Fifth PASET Forum taking place in Rwanda’s capital of Kigali, he said there was a need for universities to carry out research that responds to African problems.

Magoha and other high-profile delegates to the three-day forum, which attracted participants from over 20 countries from different fields including academia, suggested that African countries should seek ways to pull resources together and invest in digital skills development among youth in higher learning institutions and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions in a bid to harness the potential of emergent technologies.

This could boost economic growth through more efficient production and provision of services.

PASET was launched in 2013 by the governments of Senegal, Ethiopia and Rwanda with facilitation by the World Bank. It aims to address systemic gaps in skills and knowledge in Sub-Saharan Africa’s priority applied sciences, engineering and technology fields, and to build the capacity of African education and training institutions to train high quality technicians, engineers and scientists to meet the demands of the economy.

Job market disruptions

This PASET forum, titled “Destination Digital Africa: Preparing our Youth for the Future”, sought to deliberate on the fourth industrial revolution and the opportunities and risks it presents to Africa, particularly in terms of unemployment as a result of disruption of job markets and digital skills requirements.

Against the backdrop of McKinsey Global Institute predictions that up to 800 million workers around the world could lose their jobs by 2030 as a result of automation, Africa-focused experts were concerned that there is a digital skills gap among the youth in Africa, leaving them unprepared for the future world of work and technology.

The World Economic Forum also reports that 65% of primary school children today will have jobs in the future that do not yet exist.

The 2017 United Nations population report predicts that by 2050, more than half of the world’s young people under the age of 24 will be living and schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa. With 11 million new graduates entering the African job market annually, experts say it is imperative that Africa keeps up with the transformative changes and adapts its education ecosystem to ensure relevant training.

High-level skills

Speaking at the forum, Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente said the focus should be on building high-level skills.

“It is through digital literacy and advanced skills acquired in higher education and TVET that Africa will be able to benefit from the fourth industrial revolution. The ultimate goal is to build all required skills to produce relevant technologies for Africa’s innovators, entrepreneurs and future leaders,” the premier said.

Putting in a good word for mathematics, he said: “It is high time that all African countries, as they have done in promoting literacy, also set up strategies that will guarantee teaching of mathematics at all levels of education.”

Jaime Saavedra, senior director for Education Global Practice at the World Bank Group, stressed the need for high quality and transformational systems of education to provide African youth with more opportunities to learn a range of skills.

New jobs, new skills

“New jobs will demand a combination of three different kinds of skills, namely, fundamental skills, social skills and digital skills,” he said.

For the students exhibiting their projects at the PASET forum, the meeting served as a platform for them to showcase their ideas, learn from others and gain experience.

“I am expecting a lot, especially with regard to how I can improve on my project. I designed a prototype milk-selling machine which will use a smart card and does not require anyone to be around,” said Kelly Theogene Mugabo, a third-year student from the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC) in Kigali.

PASET supports a Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund, which plays a key role in training a critical mass of highly skilled scientists, professionals and innovators.